Is your pupil feedback effective?

Before we start working with pupils (and while it occurs) it is wise to discuss previous experiences.  When pupils have experience of trying to learn practical skills it can be very beneficial in raising awareness of the ‘learning path’.

If a pupil has very little experience then that is STILL worth a discussion; arguably more so.  Feedback to pupils comes in many forms and we should vary the methods so as to ‘tune in’ to our pupil.  If a pupil’s background offers them little assistance in the path of learning to drive then that needs to be said because some people will literally not appreciate that point and could have entirely unrealistic expectations of what is achievable. 

In my driving school we adopt a traffic light system denoting previous experience after we speak to our customers before they even sign up to us.  This is important because it manages customer’s expectations – particularly the customers who would not otherwise be aware of the significance previous experiences has on the rate of learning.

As I have mentioned in other blogs it cannot be over stated how important it is for feedback that we give to be clear and meaningful.  If you have discussions with pupils and they are not engaging with you or have little regard to what you say, then make every attempt to change the communication method.  Examples include the giving of formal typed feedback, playback of recorded in-car video footage, verbal 1:1 (facing each other), performance evaluation via their pupil book (acts as a handy reminder), either face to face or telephone conversations with parents/funders of trainers, emailing, targeted driving video suggestions, other ADI assessments, mock test results (including how it was scored), specific blog posts, driving test reports.  There are lots of ways in which pupils can receive feedback and we should never assume that just because some feedback provided is blindingly obvious to us, it will also be understood by the pupil.  Some pupils will not be practised in the receiving of feedback so they will be not appreciate or even respect the contents of the feedback.  By giving effective feedback we are managing risk, developing learning and working 'smart'.

In much the same way, one could stress a similar point in “client centred learning” – it will not be suitable for all pupils necessarily; which is why the DVSA have been careful of their wording in section 6.3.3

This subject of feedback is a very important point to us as driving instructors as it is assisting in 3 ways: the effectiveness of the learning process, maintaining of safety and the managing of customer expectations – significant for the benefit of a successful business and happy customers.

For more information contact Tara on 0800 689 4174